{"id":21886,"date":"2016-05-16T14:01:54","date_gmt":"2016-05-16T21:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=21886"},"modified":"2016-05-16T14:01:54","modified_gmt":"2016-05-16T21:01:54","slug":"open-thread-5162016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2016\/05\/16\/open-thread-5162016\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Thread – 5\/16\/2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m quite busy today, as I needed another Lona Nap this morning, so please pardon my brevity.  My posting may be limited tomorrow, as I have to go out for labs for my pre-surgery physical.<\/font><\/p>\n

Jig Zone Puzzle<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

Today’s took me 4:49 (average 6:32).  To do it, click here<\/a>.  How did you do?<\/font><\/p>\n

Short Takes<\/strong>:<\/font><\/p>\n

From NPR<\/a>: <\/font>If Democrats take back the Senate in 2016, they’ll likely have women to thank for it.<\/p>\n

The party is likely to have at least six female nominees who are challenging Republican incumbents in their top-targeted states, helping them flip the four seats necessary<\/a> to take back Senate control, if Democrats hold the White House.<\/p>\n

And Democrats believe they have the perfect storm brewing to help them do that \u2014 likely the first female presidential nominee coupled with a probable GOP nominee who has a well-documented history of controversial remarks about women.<\/p>\n

"With Donald Trump’s toxicity permeating the Republican Party, never has there been a better time for a slate of Democratic women who remain focused on issues rather than insults," said Marcy Stech of EMILY’s List, whose group helps recruit pro-abortion rights women to run for political office.<\/p>\n

And if women win in these top-targeted races, they’re on pace to break the current record of 20 women in the Senate. If Democrats run the table, women could make up nearly a quarter of the upper chamber come January 2017.<\/p>\n

A woman’s place is in the House, and in the Senate, and if we can’t have Bernie, in the White House.<\/font><\/p>\n

From OPB<\/a>: <\/font>Voters in Oregon are going to the polls Tuesday to vote in their presidential primary along with a host of state and local races. But Oregonians aren\u2019t actually going to the polls because all of the state\u2019s 2.3 million voters get their ballots through the mail.<\/p>\n

In a special election in 1996, Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden became the first person ever elected to Congress exclusively through a vote-by-mail election. He remains a big fan of the system, which the state adopted for all elections in 2000.<\/p>\n

Wyden held a press conference this month at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem to announce a bill that would expand the system nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re interested in taking the Oregon way, vote-by-mail, into precincts all across America,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Wyden\u2019s proposal would require all federal elections to be held through the mail. States could still do as they please for state and local races. He\u2019s tried expanding vote-by-mail before to no avail. But he said maybe this year will be different. Wyden points to reports of people standing in line for hours to cast ballots in presidential primaries.<\/p>\n

Once again, Oregon leads the way. If the US adopts Sen. Wyden’s proposal, the nation will be better off due to voter convenience, and a paper record.<\/font><\/p>\n

From PoliticusUSA<\/a>: <\/font>In a shameful display, MSNBC\u2019s Joe Scarborough did his best to defend Donald Trump\u2019s history of sexism, sexual harassment and misogyny that was uncovered by The New York Times…<\/p>\n

…Here are some of the behaviors that Scarborough left out. Trump sexualized his then 16-year-old daughter by asking other men if she was hot.<\/a> Trump made unwanted advances towards women. Trump engaged in inappropriate physical contact with women. The presumptive Republican nominee was revealed to have demonstrated a consistent pattern of sexual harassment towards women that he had the ability to exert authority or control over.<\/p>\n

Barf Bag Alert!!<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n